Shloka 40
यदि दास्यामि ते मार्ग सैन्यस्य व्रजतो55ज्ञया । अन्ये>प्याज्ञापयिष्यन्ति मामेवं धनुषो बलात्,“यदि मैं इस समय तुम्हारी आज्ञासे तुम्हें और लंका जाती हुई तुम्हारी सेनाको मार्ग दे दूँगा तो दूसरे लोग भी इसी प्रकार धनुषके बलसे मुझपर हुक्म चलाया करेंगे
yadi dāsyāmi te mārgaṃ sainyasya vrajato 'jñayā | anye 'py ājñāpayiṣyanti mām evaṃ dhanuṣo balāt ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “If, at your command, I were to show the route to your marching army, then others too would begin to order me about in the same way—by the sheer force of the bow. To yield once to coercion is to invite a world where might replaces right.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not legitimize coercion by yielding to it: once a righteous person accepts being commanded through force, it sets a precedent that encourages others to replace dharma with intimidation.
Mārkaṇḍeya refuses to provide guidance to an advancing army merely because he is being ordered; he warns that complying under threat would invite further abuses of power by others.